Two people have died and two others are in critical condition after a landslide hit a walking track in the Blue Mountains near Sydney.
Emergency services responded after reports that the landslide had fallen onto the group of five walkers on the Wentworth Pass track at Wentworth Falls.
NSW Police Detective Acting Superintendent John Nelson described the incident as “a tragic scene”. He said:
“Our rescuers [are] working under quite arduous conditions. A girl is walking out at the moment, who is obviously clearly [and] extremely distressed.”
Police helicopters, local officers and a specialist rescue team were deployed in dense bushland.
NSW Ambulance Superintendent Stewart Clarke said.
“The patients have significant head and abdominal injuries, requiring sedation and intubation prior to them being extricated.”
The National Parks and Wildlife Service website said that part of the track was closed “due to flood damage and ongoing rockfall risk.”
However, Detective Acting Superintendent John Nelson told media that the part of the track where the tragedy occurred was open.
He further said the victims’ next of kin have not yet been informed of their deaths.